Congressional District 24 race pits incumbent Wilson against GOP challenger Navarro
.png "U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson runs against Jesus Navarro for U.S. House District 24")
Florida’s 24th Congressional District is changing.
The changes can be seen not just within the boundaries — Hollywood has been replaced with parts of Miramar and the district has expanded to include most of Miami-Dade County’s northeast quadrant — but also its demographics. New areas like Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach and Miami Beach mean the district’s population now includes more non-Hispanic white people in addition to a healthy mix of both Latinos and Black Miamians.
“It’s an exciting district,” incumbent Congresswoman Frederica Wilson said. “Very, very diverse. Very Miami.”
READ MORE: The Herald’s Voter Guide
Wilson is facing Republican challenger Jesus G. Navarro. She has represented the district since 2011 and will turn 80 on Saturday. Navarro, who works as a consultant for Mobility Works and has never held public office, is 34.
The two have very different views on the country’s direction. Wilson is pro-choice, pro-gun regulation and pro-police reform. Navarro told the Herald’s Editorial Board, “I am not for gun control at all. I am against abortion.” He also said he opposes police reform. “That is affecting our communities,” he said, “and instead of protecting our communities, we’re making our communities more vulnerable.”
“We’re there for” the constituents, Navarro said. “We’re not there to harm them.”
Navarro criticized Wilson for the impoverished areas of the district. He specifically pointed to Opa-locka’s unemployment, average income and poverty rate, saying these were the signs of unsuccessful “far left radical Democrat policies.”
“I think those are pretty large indicators that you’re failing at your job,” Navarro said. “And it’s not just in Opa-locka itself.”
When asked about the poverty, Wilson explained the realities of living in Miami-Dade.
“There’s no district that you can really carve in Miami-Dade County that doesn’t have some parts of poverty. We are an immigrant-rich community, and we have a state government that refuses to expand Medicaid. So we’ll always have challenges with healthcare, education and food desert,” Wilson said. “I’ve just acquired a wealthy district that doesn’t need all of that.”
Wilson was focused on projects designed to memorialize and beautify her district. She mentioned building a Bahamian museum in the heart of Coconut Grove, refurbishing a handful of Boys and Girls Clubs and constructing what she said would be the first COVID-19 memorial in the country.
“I don’t want this community to ever forget the devastation that COVID brought,” Wilson said. “And I think we have people on the other side of the aisle who are trying to minimize COVID and the impact it made. But in my district I lost thousands and thousands of people.” (Miami-Dade has had nearly 12,000 COVID deaths according to the latest data reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
Wilson heavily outpaced Navarro in fundraising. Wilson has raised nearly $600,000. Her contributors include the American Federation of Teachers, American Airlines Group and Carnival Corp. Conversely, Navarro has raised a little more than $3,500.
This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 2:18 PM.
